Linda Chester began her publishing career at Doubleday. After earning a Masters in Communications, she established the The Linda Chester Literary Agency in La Jolla, California. In 1992, Linda opened a new headquarters in New York City, and today the firm is one of the few bi-coastal agencies. Linda represents books in the areas of literary and commercial fiction, biography/memoir, history, current events/politics, health and beauty, the fine and performing arts, and business. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of the Salk Institute and the Board of Directors for The La Jolla Playhouse.

Laurie Fox, who joined the agency in 1989, is a partner at the agency. A graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz (Writing and Theatre Arts), she is a published author of fiction and poetry, including Sexy Hieroglyphics (Chronicle Books); and two novels, My My Sister from the Black Lagoon (starred Publishers Weekly review; San Francisco Chronicle bestseller) and The Lost Girls (optioned for film), both published by Simon & Schuster. She represents books in the areas of literary and quality fiction, memoir/biography, popular culture and cultural criticism, quirky humor, narrative nonfiction, history and current events, art and artists, and cutting-edge science and technology.

Gary Jaffe, Executive Manager, has a bachelor's degree in theatre and music from Syracuse University. With a varied background in the arts and office management, he lends both his literary and theatrical talents to the agency.

A Sampling of Our Celebrated Titles:

With a client list that includes novelists, historians and journalists, the Linda Chester Literary Agency is extremely proud to represent national treasure Wally Lamb and his two New York Times bestselling novels and Oprah Club selections, She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True. The agency also represented two of the last books by bestselling author (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff) Richard Carlson, as well as wildly popular novelist Jennifer Weiner's Good In Bed and In Her Shoes. We are delighted to represent international Buddhist author/teacher Thich Nhat Hanh's The Art of Power; James R. Hansen's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, First Man, a NYT bestseller; Winston S. Churchill's collection of his grandfather's speeches, NeverGive In; acclaimed New York Times bestselling novelist, Lolly Winston's Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately; Rosemary Clooney's autobiography, Girl Singer; Jonathan Kirsch's bestselling The Harlot By the Side of the Road and Moses; Cameron West's New York Times bestselling memoir First Person Plural; Robert Zubrin's classic science book The Case For Mars; Daniel H. Wilson's How toSurvive a Robot Uprising, Wired's 2006 Book of the Year; Elizabeth Brundage's literary thrillers The Doctor's Wife and Somebody Else's Daughter; Carolyn Cooke's story collection, The Bostons, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and Los Angeles Times "Best Book of the Year"; 3-time BookSense Pick novelist Tim Farrington, author of The Monk Downstairs, a New York Times Notable Book; literary crime novelist David Corbett's New York Times Notable novel Done for A Dime, as well as The Devil's Redhead, nominated for both an Anthony and Barry Award, and his Blood of Paradise, nominated for the Edgar; the classic parenting guide, The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian; international yoga star Donna Farhi's The Breathing Book and Yoga Mind Body and Soul; and Pamela Keogh's illustrated AudreyStyle and What Would Audrey Do?

Author Highlight

Born and raised in Hartford, Conn., Lolly Winston holds an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College, where she wrote a collection of short stories as her thesis. She worked as a freelance journalist and her work has appeared in Redbook, Family Circle, Working Mother and many other publications.

Winston's first novel, Good Grief, published in 2004, was a New York Times best-seller, a #1 Book Sense pick, and was translated into 15 languages. Her second novel, Happiness Sold Separately, also hit the New York Times best seller list. Her short stories have appeared in The Sun, The Southeast Review, The Third Berkshire Anthology, Girls' Night Out and others. She's contributed essays to the anthologies Kiss Tomorrow Hello and Bad Girls. Winston's long-awaited novel, You For Me, is forthcoming from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster in Winter 2018.